Not So Father of the Year
by Chocolatefrogaddict
Summary: Bonding moments and times in Frank Zhang's life when his father Mars was there to help him along.
1. A Couple Weeks Old

Mars crept through the halls of the great Zhang family mansion, careful not to run into anything for fear of making noise and waking the three Zhangs in the house. The grandmother would be a terror to wake up and she would most likely attack him mistaking him for an intruder. Emily on the other hand would be exhausted but alert enough to recognize him even in the middle of the night. She most likely would be curious about what he was doing sneaking into her house in the dead of night. However the third Zhang would scream and wake his mother if he was to be woken up from his peaceful slumber, and his mission would fail.

Mars had it all worked out to the very last detail. One. He would come to the Zhang mansion and enter as quickly and quietly as possible. Two. Navigate his way to the last room on the left on the second floor of the great home. Three. He would slowly walk over to the crib against the wall so as not to startle the child that it contained. Four. Complete mission. Five. Exit in the same fashion as he entered the home, but without a trace of his presence. _Can't fail this, heck I can't fail him. _Mars thought as he moved swiftly and soundlessly up the stairs.

All Mars could think about was the tiny baby he had yet to meet waiting upstairs for him. _What if he doesn't ever accept me as his father? _He pondered as he made his way down the 50 meter hallway leading to his destination. _What if he resents me for not being there for him? _He really really did want to be there for his son throughout his entire life, be able to protect him and teach him things like how to ride his bike and help him take his first steps. But alas he can't, with all his godly duties and battles to be fought and won he was unable to spend enough time with his son.

Truthfully Mars didn't even know what his son's given name was. He was now a fortnight old and still Mars had been unable to acquire the name of his son. None of his iris messages had included the baby's name in it, even when he had watched as Emily filled out the baby's paperwork he had been unable to make out his name. The thing that most wounded Mars was when he saw Emily skip over the part that asked for the father's information. _I can't be a father to a boy that legally isn't mine, even though I know he is. _The thought nearly made the god of war shed a tear, almost, the god of war never ever had cried, he had always screamed and wailed as a child but never cried when he wanted something.

_Ah finally, finally I have reached him. _Mars thought as he twisted the doorknob and entered the dimly lit nursery. The nursery was a shade of medium dark forrest green which was atypical for a child's room considering most nurseries were done in pastel colors. None the less the color seemed fitting for the room and complimented the darker wood of the crib and changing table. Mars fortunately didn't really have to look where he was going because the boy was to young to play with toys that weren't tiny stuffed animals. One thing that really stood out to Mars were the letters F-R-A-N-K spelled out against the wall, above a rocking chair that sat in the corner of the room next to a dimmed lamp.

Once he reached the crib he looked down at the baby that was laying there silently with his eyes staring back at Mars' dark chocolate eyes. "Hello Frank, I'm your dad." Mars whispered quietly at his son with a small smile gracing his normal face, which usually showed about the same level of emotion as a rock. Mars lowered his arms to lift the tiny infant out of his crib. Feeling the comfortable weight of his warm son in his rather buff arms, he looked down at him and slowly rocked Frank's little body while lyrics to You Are My Sunshine kept coming to his mind until he realized the he was quietly humming the calm tune.

"I Love You Frank. I will come see you from time to time, as often as I can, to make sure you are safe and all. I will protect you to the best of my abilities, nothing is going to try to hurt you until you are old enough to handle it, your mother will make sure of that." Mars promised. " I know I'm not the perfect daddy, I can't always be here to talk to you or even really get to know you as much as I would like to. Because, you see, as a Roman god I have lots of duties and things I have to do, things that get in the way of me being with you all the time. Just remember that no one on this earth loves you more than your mommy and I do." Mars finished his practically soliloquy considering Frank couldn't understand a word he was saying. He realized that he had been stroking the small tuft of coal colored hair on Frank's head, he brought Frank's forehead to his lips and kissed it.

"I can't argue with that." A smooth silky voice spoke quietly from the doorway.

"Emily."

"Hello Mars, I would ask you what brings you here, but it is obvious." She replied with a slight chuckle.

"I had to see him, before it got to dangerous for me to be around him much. Before my immortal scent rubs off on him."

"I understand, I do think there may have been a more decent hour to come though."

"Yes, that is true, I am sorry."

"I forgive you, I know why you did what you did."

"Is it just me or is Frank really tiny?" Mars asked changing the topic completely.

"I know, he seems to small and fragile, almost as though if you handle him a little too roughly he would shatter into a billion irreparable pieces."

Mars couldn't help but grit his teeth and set his jaw in anger. _Jupiter, just the idea of my kid getting hurt makes my blood boil. _Mars noted the feeling of his face turning a bit pink as his blood flowed more quickly and hotly (**A/N **just go with it).

"I had an interesting run in with Juno twelve days ago."

"Oh?"

"She gave me a stick of drift wood and told me that when the stick burned Frank's life would end."

"Is there any kind of things we can use to prevent it from burning?" Mars asked desperately.

Emily was taken slightly aback when Mars said 'we'. "I haven't found anything in all my research, not even a Chinese folk tale."

"We will find something. Now I must go."

"Alright."

"I love you Emily."

"I love you too Mars."

"I love you Frank, so so much, I will see you soon, real soon." Mars grimaced when he was no longer holding Frank in his arms.

And with those final words Mars had vanished into the air.


	2. War Hero

_I can't believe she's gone, she's really gone. What will happen to Frank? He needs to go to Camp Jupiter, to be safe, it's the only way. Surely his grandmother will allow me to guide him to California, she will want to keep him safe as much as I do and Emily would have._ All of these thoughts were running through Mars' head as he approached the front door of the Zhang family manor, he wanted to be the one to break the news to Frank about his mother dying. He was hoping that he would be able to console Frank or at least see the boy and see how much he had grown since he last visited him. _Alright here goes._ Mars knocked on the door waiting for Frank.

"Hello." Frank said to him as he pulled the door open to reveal Mars standing in Canadian soldier garb looking forlorn.

"Hello, I am officer Barnes. I regret to inform you that Emily Zhang died in war protecting her fellow soldiers." Mars spat out as quickly as possible, not wavering his eyes from Frank's face as it too became depressingly forlorn.

"What?" Frank whimpered looked devastated. Mars stared at his young son's face, even though Frank looked more like his mother in the sense that he had the same dark hair and skin tone, yet Mars saw some of himself in the boy. Frank had the same dark chocolate eyes that Mars saw everyone he looked in the mirror, he also had all his other features, even his eye shape.

"I am sorry son. No one should have to go through this kind of pain." What Frank didn't realize was that Mars meant son in ever sense of the word.

"No. It shouldn't happen to anyone." Frank spoke strongly and looked very solemn and downtrodden.

"Do you need someone to talk about it to?"

"Umm, okay." Franks stretched the a in okay, he moved outside of the threshold and closed the door behind him as he stepped out of the house and sat down on the porch steps.

"Frank, there is something you need to know." Mars said, inhaling deeply before continuing. "Your mother was an amazing soldier and an amazing woman and mother. I knew her very well, well enough to know that she didn't want to leave you or abandon you, she was just serving her country and protecting her people and family."

"How do you know my name?" Frank wondered aloud.

"I know your name because we have met before, when you were younger I saw you sometimes." It made Mars' heartache that he had to lie to his son for the time being, till he could know the truth."

Mars' explanation seemed to be good enough for his son to feel slightly more comfortable with him there. "Hey kid, I can't promise that what's ahead of you will be easy, especially without your mom, but you will get through it in the end, I promise." Mars told his son who had no idea what he really meant. "And I'll be here for you if you ever need someone to come to."

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't even really know you." Frank said trying to be as unawkward as physically possible.

Mars couldn't shake the sad feeling that came over him when he heard Frank say that. What hurt most was that the war god knew it was true, that he hadn't been there for Frank in the past. "I know, and for that I am sorry. Your mother and I were extremely close and it seems wrong not to get to know our-her son."

"Okay. See you around I guess, I should go back inside, my grandmother will probably be looking for me if I'm late for lunch. I'll pass on the news." Frank said as he stood up from the steps and shook Mars' hand, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had met this guy before.

"Goodbye Frank Zhang." under his breath Mars said, "I love you son."

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><p><strong>Please leave a review if you get a chance, I would love to hear any ideas you want to written. <strong>

**thanks, **

**Chocolatefrogaddict, **


	3. Lead the Way

Watching him fighting to survive was agonizing as it would be for any other parent. Not being able to help him fight off monsters and not get injured. Mars was currently watching Frank making his way down to California from Canada. The scene he saw from his one way Iris message where he was watching Frank fight off a chimera with his bow and arrow. Mars wished he could interfere, that he could scare off or fight off the monster that was threatening his son's life. But alas he wasn't allowed to protect his son because the gods weren't allowed to have contact worth their mortal children for the time being.

Thankfully Frank seemed to have little difficulty in protecting himself from the monster, fighting and defense seemed to come quite naturally to Frank. _He got that from me. _Mars smiled as he noticed the similarities between himself and his son, it still surprised him everyday that he could have such an incredible son. Frank hadn't even done anything heroic yet and Mars still thought that he was the bravest boy he had ever met.

Still, the feeling that he should be able to protect his son overcame him to the point where he wiped away the Iris message so that he wouldn't be tempted to contact Frank I tilt he time was right.

Frank was so close now to San Francisco, only a small distance between Frank's safety _I need Frank to be safe, out of harm's way and protected by Camp Jupiter's boundaries and people. His grandmother has already prepared him to talk to Reyna, he will be perfectly fine if he can get there._ Mars couldn't wait for Frank to finally be safe, watching and waiting for Frank to get to safety was as maddening as watching that action movie about people who were American pretending to be Canadian to escape, Argo something rather. It was almost painful the suspense Mars was feeling.

_So close, he's so close. He's going to make it through, I know he is._Mars tried to convince himself thy everything was okay. Frank was fighting by shooting his arrows at any part of the monster he can reach eventually the monster faded into golden dust and disappeared. Watching Frank succeed was one of the proudest moments of his life._ He's my son. I'm the reason he was able to keep himself safe, well mostly me anyway. _Mars' eyes shine with pride and he felt relief as Frank continue to walk on his way to the bus stop that was merely 200 meters in front of him.

Still, Mars couldn't stop feeling a pang of guilt that all he could so was watch his son. He couldn't just walk up and help him fight for his life on his way to the safety of Camp Jupiter in San Francisco, California. For now all he could do was wait until he could reveal himself to Frank.

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><p><strong>Please review! And tell me if there is anything that you want to see!<strong>


	4. Rejection Sucks

Nothing had ever hurt Mars the same way or as much as hearing of the prayers of his son Frank. He was praying to apollo that he would claim him as his son, and that shattered Mars into a trillion pieces. _My own son won't even consider for a split second that I am his father. He thinks that just because he is talented with a bow that the only father candidate could be Apollo. _Hearing of the prayers that Frank had said made Mars crumble. He couldn't stand the thought of someone else being able to claim his baby boy. His young, lactose intolerant, motherless, archer baby boy. He had watched Frank grow up from the tiny infant he had once held in his arms into a man at the age of 16 years old; it had passed by him in the blink of an eye. Frank was growing up altogether too fast for his liking. _It's not fair, he should still be a little innocent baby in his mother's arms, not grown up into a teenager ready for ME to claim. _

Truthfully Mars had been thinking about claiming his son since the time he was just a baby, hoping that claiming him would make his son's life slightly less complicated. _Tomorrow. _Mars promised himself. _Tomorrow I will claim him as my son after the war games. _

Mars thought back to the time when he watched as Emily Zhang had skipped over the father information part of Frank's birth certificate. That moment had beaten him down more than battle ever had. The mere thought of not being able to call Frank his was causing pain in his chest, something to do with his heart, or something like that. Now Mars wasn't normally a really touchy feely kind of guy, but something about Frank struck a nerve with him. He wasn't sure if it was because of the love he had for his mother before she died, or because of Frank himself, but Mars was sure of one thing. Frank Zhang was the war god's kryptonite; watching painfully as his son was fighting for his life to get to safety was one of the worst. The other worst was when the Zhang family found out that Frank was lactose intolerant. Mars had raced to their ER and sat in the waiting room until visitors were allowed to visit all because his name wasn't on Frank's birth certificate. _Stupid mortals and their inability to realize that just because their parent isn't human, doesn't mean that they don't exist. _Mars sulked on numerous occasions when no one else was around. He remembered the anxiousness of waiting to see if Frank was going to be alright once the doctors did everything they had to do to keep him alive. It was an agonizingly slow process that they went through to keep Frank from vomiting his intestines out, but Mars sat there the whole time trying to think of a way to contact Emily without terrifying her by iris messaging her, or calling her cell phone for the 23rd time.

One of Mars' greatest fears was that Apollo would try to claim Frank even though he wasn't actually his son. It wouldn't be the first time that one of the gods claimed another's child as their own. _And who wouldn't want Frank as a son, sure he had some problems, but everyone has those, but he is also abnormally brave, kind, and talented. _Yes, this nightmare had woken Mars many times from his slumber. Hopefully he would never again have to have those horrific thoughts once he claimed Frank the next day, because rejection sucks.

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	5. A Scarecrow To A Flame

Flames licked the walls in every direction. The house was going to come down. Mars knew that much. He looked down to see himself clutching a small body, toddler maybe about two years old. _Frank. _He realized. His next thought was of the small piece of drift wood that Frank's life depended on.

Mars began to search the living room for the piece of wood while holding his semi conscious toddler in one arm. He could feel Frank's life slipping away bit by bit, and he prayed that Frank would survive. If only he could find that stick and keep it from burning he could keep his son safe. He could ensure that his life would be a long life, but alas, he knew he couldn't be there for his son when he needed him.

The fire continued to grow and seemed to shift with Mars and Frank. Wherever they went the fire followed, to the kitchen, bedrooms, even to the bathroom where he set Frank down in the tub and plugged the drain. Mars tried to turn the faucet of the bath tub on to fill it, but it wouldn't budge. _This is it, my baby is going to die because I can't turn a stupid faucet on. _Mars scolded himself. Of course he didn't want Frank to die, because that pain would be a thousand times more painful than losing an honorable soldier. After trying and failing to get the sink faucet to come on Mars scooped Frank up in his arms and ran. _I'm running out of time. I have to get Frank to safety, maybe the stick is outside and he's really just half conscious because of the smoke. _Mars tried to believe that what he was thinking was true, and that Frank would be okay.

As Mars raced out of the bathroom and into the rest of the burning house he heard a little voice call out, "daddy, daddy." The voice begged to be heard. He realized it was coming from Frank, he also noticed that there were tears streaking down Frank's tiny toddler face as he clutched Mars' t-shirt in his chubby two-year-old hands.

"It's gonna be okay buddy. I'm gonna get you out of here, I swear." Mars wasn't entirely sure if he was promising Frank or himself, but he needed to believe it, for both their sakes.

"Daddy, daddy." Frank cried out again in a mantra. Mars noticed how he pulled his head down from Mars' shoulder so that he wouldn't be able to see the flames behind them. Mars clutched Frank to his chest even tighter than before, _I can't lose this child, not another one. _

After what seemed to be an aeon Mars finally reached the front door of the house. He turned the knob on the door as hard as he could, he prayed that it would open. And it did. Mars saw the little piece of drift wood sitting on the front porch. But it was too late. The fire consumed them both. Frank was gone.

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><p>Mars bolted up in his silk sheet bed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried his best to calm his uneven gasps for air. He grabbed the nearest coin he could reach and ran to the bathroom to try to make a rainbow in the night. He had to be sure.<p>

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><p><strong>Please Review! Story suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.<strong>


	6. A Father's Day

He stared down at the card in front of him on the table, afraid to open the envelope and see what it said. What If what was written would be a goodbye note or something equally as terrible. Of course that wasn't the most likely thing, considering it was Father's Day, but still, it could happen.

He use to visit his son every Father's Day. Naturally his son didn't know that he had spent that day going to his soccer games, or practicing archery that he had received from his "grandmother". The best part was waiting until his son was almost asleep to come in and tuck him into his bed and kiss his forehead. He had done this annually since his son was born.

He wasn't the best parent, nor did he ever really spend time with his kid, but he loved his son so much that he couldn't even believe it sometimes. So receiving a Father's Day card from his son would be nothing short of a miracle.

Mars looked down at the card and decided that the only way to put his curiosity to rest would be to open the card. As he slid the card out of the envelope, his hands trembled microscopically.

Mars,

Happy Father's Day Dad!

The kids, Hazel, and I would love

to see you sometime soon,

maybe for lunch or something

Frank Charles Zhang,

Mars moved to his palace from the Olympian meeting hall, as he went to find his box labeled FRANK. Father's Day was one of the best days of the year. That he was sure of.

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	7. In Sickness and In Health

**Sorry. I know that I haven't updated in a long time, and I know that this chapter is still kind of short. But I hope you like it!**

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><p>He could feel the small strip of paper in his pocket. How could he not? He felt as though it was burning a hole through his cargo shorts. The paper wasn't significant itself; it was merely a slip of paper that said that he was allowed to pick up Frank Zhang from school in place of his grandmother.<p>

Emily's mother was the person that Emily chose as a guardian of sorts to Frank. Though it made sense that it was her who Emily chose and not himself, it still hurt to know that he couldn't take his son home when he was sick without Frank's grandmother's permission.

As he walked into the nurse's office where Frank sat with an extremely high fever and what seemed to be the beginnings of a stomach flu. He would be lying to himself if he thought that he didn't want to be there to take care of his son in his time of need. He only got to spend so much time with his son as it was. But he had to be there when he could, especially to take care of his son. He had already missed so many of Frank's firsts.

"Can I help you with something sir?" The young nurse paused her typing and asked when he walked up to the desk.

"I am here to pick up Frank Zhang. I have permission from his Grandmother." Mars said like he has rehearsed in the car on his way to Frank's school.

"Okay, but I need a note from the parent or guardian." She said slowly as if she were talking to a three year old. After I had forced myself not to react badly, I took the slip of paper, that felt as though it was burning, and handed it to the young nurse. She glanced at the paper and nodded slowly and spoke, "right this way sir."

He followed her to the back to a bed. A small figure laid curled up in the fetal position with the covered up to his chubby baby cheeks. Mars moved to pick Frank up and then brought Frank's small child frame to his shoulder.

Holding Frank this way reminded Mars of when he use to hold Frank as a baby; close to his chest so that he would feel safe and comfortable. Mars missed the warmth and comfort of holding his child in his arms as the infant nodded off. No matter how cliche it seemed, Mars loved knowing that he was taking care of and protecting his son.

Mars thought about all of his memories of Frank as he drove to the Zhang mansion to take care of Frank. Every moment he had gotten to spend with his son flashed through his mind the whole way, holding him for the first time, going to his first soccer game, his first birthday party, and many more. And he wished that he could have been there all the time for Frank, not just when he had the time to swing by.

As Mars went to open the front door of the Zhang family mansion Frank began to stir slightly. Mars tried to hold Frank as still as possible so as not to wake him from his slumber. Mars felt the warmth of his son in his arms as he had the first time he held him in his arms. He recalled his infant cries, the ones that he had desperately tried to sooth, so as not to have to hear his son in such distress. He also remembered when Frank went through the 'I only want daddy' phase, and Frank constantly wanted to be around him and to be like him.

He opened the door without jostling Frank. Mars laid Frank down on his bed and tucked him in so that he could sleep peacefully. Mars also placed a lined rubbish bin next to his sleeping son, just in case, and went downstairs to make some soup.

Frank's POV  
>- 1 hour later -<p>

I woke up slowly. I could feel the bile rising in my throat already. Glancing at the floor for a split second, I picked up the trash can on the floor next to my bed, and quickly emptied my stomach of my breakfast this I walked downstairs to see what I could find in the fridge to eat, desperately hoping for something I wouldn't vomit up.

To my surprise, when I got downstairs and into the kitchen I saw a man standing by the stove, stirring something a big pot.

"Who are you?" I inquired.

The man quickly turned to look at me be fire responding, "I'm a friend of your mother and grandmother. Your grandmother is sick so she asked me to take care of you." He replied softly and calmly in a voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

I contemplated the man's response before his curiosity got the better of him. "What's in the pot?"

"Chicken noodle soup." The man said.

"Can I have some?" I asked, hoping that he would say yes.

"Of course you can." The man replied, much to my relief. "I'll grab some bowls."

"Thank you." I responded, feeling my stomach rumbling.

Mars POV

I was so glad to be able to just sit down and talk to Frank about his life, sports, his mom and grandmother,  
>His friends, likes and dislikes, and more about this little boy that he had a hand in making. Mars desperately wished that he could stay here forever, frozen in this moment with his son.<p>

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